The present invention relates in general to the projection and retrieval of an elongated communication antenna.
In association with the present invention, an antenna transfer assembly is provided for exposure to an underwater environment through which a buoyant antenna cable is projected against water pressure or retrieved under selective control through a powered drive mechanism. During deployment of the antenna cable through such an antenna transfer assembly, because of its flexibility forces exerted on the antenna cable when pushed out of a submarine for example against sea water pressure and under friction restraint place it under axial compression causing it to jam. Such jamming occurs because of cable buckling inside of the antenna transfer assembly, preventing further deployment or retrieval movement from being imparted to the cable. It is therefore an important object of the present invention to prevent antenna buckling causing jamming inside of an antenna transfer assembly of a type exposed to an underwater environment, without resort to costly and operationally complex solutions.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of solid inserts fill empty spaces within which an antenna may otherwise buckle, thus restraining the antenna inside of the intended helical passage formed within the antenna transfer assembly to which the antenna cable is confined while driven under selective control during deployment or retrieval. When the antenna is under axial compression, it cannot buckle between pulleys because of the solid inserts filling up all of the spaces within which buckling may otherwise occur. The solid inserts furthermore supportingly engage the sides of the cable so that cable deployment may continue without buckling or jamming. Such inserts are shaped for disposition adjacent to each other in free-floating positions projecting into the spaces between cable pulleys, instead of being fixed or bolted in place to also allow easy removal and replacement of parts of the assembly during overhaul, including the cable pulleys through which the selectively controlled movement is imparted to the antenna cable.